We’ve all had them. A cold, fruit-flavored paleta is part of everyday life here in San Antonio, and so many of them are sourced from El Paraiso, a local business with more than 40 years under its belt. The family-owned establishment’s matriarch spoke to MySA about building the paleta empire, which she credits to hard work and loyal customers.
Maria Flores and her husband, José, opened El Paraiso in 1984, not far from its current home on Fredericksburg Road. Hailing from Chicago, the Flores family came to Texas in the early 1980s seeking a warmer climate and fell in love with San Antonio’s people and culture. It was here that the husband-and-wife duo dreamed up their paleta shop.
“The factors that contributed to our success was persistence, hard work, and a lot of ‘ganas,’ and especially being united as a family and working together through all the seasons. Every up and down and every hurdle, we have been able to overcome with gladness,” Flores told MySA.
That hard work was underway when MySA visited El Paraiso’s recognizable headquarters on a hot summer day. As customers filled bins with ice cream and fruit bars in assorted flavors, the shop’s team was starting a new batch of banana paletas, peeling fresh fruit to kick off the assembly line, which moved in synchronized rhythm.
“We are much stronger with unity, and it brings balance to our business as we go from summer to summer with the intention to give the best possible service. We believe that people truly love our paletas and keep coming back because they are genuine favorites,” Flores said.
In addition to selling paletas, El Paraiso rents out push carts to people who want to sell or hand out paletas in the community. During our tour of the Fredericksburg Road facility, we saw a fleet of those carts decorated with colorful images of the frozen bars. The business began with just 13 flavors, but today it boasts 25, plus a few seasonal flavors that rotate regularly.
MySA asked Flores where she sees El Paraiso in the future, and her answer was the same as it’s always been since the very beginning — to continue serving loyal customers for years to come.
“We are grateful, blessed, and fortunate to have loyal customers and a following of people that keep coming for quality paletas with great prices,” Flores said.
El Paraiso is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. These days, the ice cream shop’s paletas go for 69 cents each and can be purchased in bulk at various price points, depending on the quantity. Popular flavors include chocolate, cookies and cream, strawberry, mango, lemon, piña colada, and coconut, which is Mrs. Flores’s favorite.
Find it: 1934 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX 78201